ASPARAGUS SEASON

The most important things to remember about asparagus are: It must be fresh, and it must be cooked gently. You can very easily test the quality yourself. Simply rub a couple of spears against each other; if they squeak, they are fresh. Check to see that the ends are not dried out, and whether a little bit of moisture comes out when they are pressed gently. Then they are perfect.

What is asparagus?

Asparagus - the word comes from Greek and Latin - belongs to the lily family. It is a perennial plant of which only the rootstock (rhizome) is left buried deep underground throughout the winter. Each spring, the shoots sprout upward again and are harvested, or cut, as asparagus spears about 20 cm in length. Depending on the region and the weather, asparagus season begins between March and the middle of April and traditionally ends on June 24th, Midsummer’s Day.

How to buy asparagus

Asparagus is divided into various quality categories. This is to ensure a specific quality and to make purchasing asparagus easier.EU Product Quality Categories:Extra - 12mm, spears straight; heads firmly closedHK I - 10mm, spears well shaped; light colorationHK II - 8mm, spears less well shaped; more coloration

Cooking asparagus

First the asparagus should be washed in cold water, to remove any sand from the tips. Before cooking, white asparagus must be peeled from the head downward. For green asparagus, it is enough to peel the lower third. Then about 1-2 cm of the woody ends should be cut off. The spears can be quickly and easily peeled with the magic potato peeler - whether you use your left or right hand.

If the flavor of the asparagus is to develop fully, it must be cooked in plenty of water, to which salt, a little sugar, lemon juice, and some butter have been added. White or violet asparagus must be cooked for 15-20 minutes, depending on how thick the spears are, while green asparagus is finished in 10-15 minutes. To tell whether the asparagus is finished, pierce the end of a spear with a knife. The asparagus should be soft, but still offer some resistance.

Asparagus can be cooked either upright or lying in the pot. The asparagus pot from the original pro collection® is perfect for cooking them upright. Its special strainer inset supports the asparagus spears while they are cooking, so that they cannot move around too much and the delicate heads do not break off. When the vegetables are finished, they can be easily lifted out of the pot with the inset, while all of the cooking water drains off quickly. If you prefer preparing the asparagus in a horizontal position, you can also gently cook the fresh spring vegetables in the magic editionmulti roaster, for example, whose 7.1 l capacity offers plenty of space for the spears. Here, too, the steamer inset that is provided makes it easy to remove the finished vegetables and drain off the water. In addition, the roaster’s stainless steel lid is a perfect serving platter and can even be preheated for this purpose.

By the way, if you decide on the classic variation, serving the asparagus with new potatoes and Hollandaise sauce, the conical pan from the original pro collection line is ideal for whipping up this creamy butter sauce.

Storing asparagus

To store asparagus, make sure that it is covered and kept in a cold place. When wrapped in a moist cloth and placed in the refrigerator, fresh asparagus can be stored relatively well for 2 to 3 days. Green asparagus should be stored upright, standing in water.

Asparagus - delicious, low-calorie and healthful

Since asparagus is more than 90 percent water, it only has about 20 calories per 100 g. In addition to aspartic acid, asparagus contains potassium salts, phosphorus, and essential oils that have a diuretic effect and stimulate kidney activity. It also contains a variety of vitamins: A, B1, B2, C, E, and folic acid.